The White Lotus Sect's Objective

"Dead?"

"Li Zhong... really is dead?"

After a brief, deathly silence, the dilapidated warehouse erupted in a tidal wave of jubilation.

"Hahahaha! He's dead! The toughest bone in the prince's residence has been broken!"

"Long live the Holy Maiden!"

"Our great cause is within reach! It's within reach!"

All the surviving White Lotus Sect followers broke free of their oppression and pain. Their faces flushed with excitement as they embraced one another and roared, giving vent to the exhilaration of surviving their ordeal.

Li Zhong, a captain of the Prince of Xiushan's Residence, a Seventh Rank martial artist, and Prince Zheng Xian's sharpest blade.

His death was no less than severing one of the residence's arms.

As they saw it, the greatest obstacle had been cleared away. The Prince of Xiushan's Residence was already in their grasp.

Chen Fan leaned in a shadowy corner, silently circulating this body's internal force to heal the hidden injuries he had suffered during his escape. He watched the fanatical followers with a cold eye, his heart without the slightest ripple.

A bunch of fools.

Did they think killing Li Zhong was enough to bring down the Prince of Xiushan's Residence?

That was a prince who held a province under his command, with thousands of troops at his disposal. Li Zhong was merely the strength the residence showed the world; who knew how many experts it had hidden in the shadows?

Still, this was good for him.

The more fanatical and brainless these people were, the safer he would be.

A newly joined assassin from the Dragon Traversing Sect, taciturn and inconspicuous, was just the role for him to hide behind.

"All of you, shut up."

A cool female voice, not loud, instantly drowned out all the cheering and clamor.

The warehouse fell silent once more.

Every follower fell as silent as cicadas in winter, gazing in awe at Su Xin, who sat cross-legged.

Su Xin slowly opened her eyes. Her injuries were severe, and her normally lovely face was now utterly bloodless. But that did nothing to diminish her authority; instead, it lent her cold severity a touch of frailty.

"Did one Li Zhong make you lose your heads?"

Her gaze slowly swept over each person, and everyone she looked at involuntarily lowered their heads.

"With Li Zhong dead, will the residence collapse? Will Zheng Xian surrender without a fight?"

"Have you forgotten that there is still an Attendant at the Prince of Xiushan's Residence?"

"One who spends his years in seclusion and never concerns himself with worldly affairs, but is a genuine Fifth Grade expert."

A Fifth Grade expert!

Those four words were like a basin of ice water poured over the heads of all the fanatical followers, drenching them from head to toe.

The people who had been so excited moments ago were now deathly pale, their bodies beginning to tremble.

An Eighth Rank martial artist could already be considered a capable fighter in the jianghu.

A Seventh Rank martial artist could serve as a captain, capable of guarding a city.

Sixth Rank experts were as rare as phoenix feathers and qilin horns.

As for Fifth Grade... that was a whole other level of existence. A casual gesture carried enough force to shatter monuments and split stone. As for this band of defeated remnants, forget assassinating such a person; they probably couldn't even withstand a single finger.

The mood in the warehouse plunged from the heights of jubilation into an icy abyss.

But Chen Fan's heart stirred.

Fifth Grade...

If he were sent to assassinate that Fifth Grade expert one day, it would be like lighting a lantern in the latrine-courting death.

But courting death was a good thing for him.

Die at the hands of a Fifth Grade expert and reincarnate as a Fifth Grade martial artist-he would be halfway to heaven in a single step.

But when he thought of the residence's old steward, who was nearly sixty and, he had heard, seemed to be a eunuch, he decided to forget it.

Su Xin took in everyone's reactions. This was precisely the effect she wanted.

She had chastened them to keep their heads clear.

But she could not let their newly kindled morale be snuffed out.

"One Fifth Grade expert has scared you this badly?" She snorted. "Then should I tell you that besides the prince's residence, there's another mountain in Xiushan Province we can't go around?"

Everyone's hearts trembled at her words, and they all raised their heads.

"Xiushan Province's regional commander, Zhou Zhenxiong."

Su Xin pronounced the name one word at a time.

"A Fourth Rank military officer personally appointed by the Great Shang Imperial Dynasty."

Every face turned utterly grave.

If a Fifth Grade expert was a towering mountain, then a Fourth Rank expert was an impassable heavenly chasm!

A person of that caliber could turn internal force into Gang and become impervious to blades and spears. One alone could stand against an army of thousands!

Helplessness.

Utter, complete helplessness settled over everyone's hearts.

Their joy at killing Li Zhong had long since vanished. Only now did they realize what a terrifying behemoth they meant to challenge.

Forget an uprising; their paltry numbers probably weren't even enough to fill the gaps between the enemy's teeth.

Even Chen Fan was surprised.

This world was more dangerous than he had imagined.

A Fourth Rank expert... and that was only the peak of martial strength in one province. What lay above that? What dragon's pool and tiger's den must the imperial city be?

"Look at the lot of you."

Just as everyone's hearts had turned to dead ashes, Su Xin suddenly gave a soft laugh.

She rose to her feet, and the confidence of someone in control of everything returned to her pale face.

"The sect has experts of its own to deal with Regional Commander Zhou Zhenxiong. It's not for us to worry about."

Her words were like a shot to the heart, instantly injected into everyone present.

The sect had experts who could deal with a Fourth Rank expert?

Their hearts, which had been deathly still, began to stir again.

"As for the Fifth Grade Attendant at the residence..." Su Xin paused and looked around. "In a few days, the sect will send another Fifth Grade expert to help us."

The warehouse erupted once again at her words!

This time, however, it was a subdued excitement, filled with the feeling of having survived a calamity and with boundless hope.

With the sect's experts backing us, what was there to fear?

"Our target remains the Prince of Xiushan's Residence."

Su Xin walked to the front of the crowd. Her voice was not loud, but it held a power that beguiled the heart.

"Li Zhong is dead, and the residence's defenses have been greatly weakened. This is the best time for us to infiltrate it."

"What we must do is thoroughly wreck the residence from within before the two Fifth Grade experts face off, and turn it into an empty shell!"

"Is that understood?"

"Understood!"

This time, everyone answered in unison, their voices filled with the resolve to stake their lives on a chance to survive.

Chen Fan joined the shout from within the crowd, but his thoughts were racing.

Infiltrate the prince's residence?

That job sounded dangerous.

He had only just escaped the whirlpool of the prince's residence, and he had no desire to plunge headlong back into it.

Just as he was thinking of a way to excuse himself-

"Chen Jinzhong."

Su Xin's gaze landed squarely on him.

Chen Fan's heart tightened. He immediately stepped out of the line and bowed.

"At your service."

"Li Zhong is dead. The residence will surely tighten its guard, but at the same time, a new power vacuum will appear." Su Xin looked at him and spoke slowly. "You were responsible for the assassination before, so you should know something about the defenses on the outskirts of the residence."

"I want you to continue lying low around the residence and gather every piece of useful information."

"Especially the candidates for the new captain and the changes in personnel within the residence."

"Can you do it?"

All eyes focused on Chen Fan.

Some were envious, some jealous, and some appraising.

This was an important task assigned by the Holy Maiden herself.

Chen Fan cursed her ten thousand times in his heart.

This woman really was up to no good.

She was treating him as a pathfinding stone to be thrown away after use.

The residence's captain had just died, and everyone there was on edge, startled by the wind and the cry of a crane. If he went snooping around for information now, there was a very high chance he would be discovered.

But could he refuse?

No.

The role he was playing now was that of an assassin deeply grateful and utterly loyal to the White Lotus Sect.

Refusing would only arouse suspicion.

Besides, he had unexpectedly discovered from Chen Jinzhong's memories that the man was actually a simp.

He spoke of being grateful to the White Lotus Sect and wanting to repay it.

Perhaps that really was part of the reason, but the main reason was the Holy Maiden, Su Xin!

Chen Jinzhong had been led by lust, a simp for the Holy Maiden through and through.

If Su Xin told him to go east, he would never dare go west!

"Your subordinate will not fail you!"

Chen Fan dropped to one knee and answered in a firm, decisive voice.

"Very good."

Su Xin nodded in satisfaction.

"Go, and be careful."

"Yes!"

Chen Fan rose, turned without the slightest hesitation, and headed out of the warehouse.

He could feel more than a dozen gazes behind him, prickling his back like thorns.

He walked one step at a time, steady and resolute, as though he had no fear of the danger ahead.

Just as his hand was about to touch the battered wooden door-

"Wait."

Su Xin's voice drifted faintly from behind him.

Chen Fan stopped in his tracks.

He slowly turned around and looked at the woman, whose white robes were whiter than snow, but whose heart was as venomous as a snake or scorpion.

Su Xin was looking at him too, her lovely eyes seemingly able to see through a person's heart.

"The Dragon Traversing Sect's movement method truly is second to none under heaven when it comes to fleeing for one's life."

Her words were soft, but Chen Fan's heart gave a violent jump.

"But don't forget."

Su Xin took a step forward, and a faint trace of fragrance wafted to Chen Fan's nose.

"Your life was given to you by the sect."